


Prince Louis Arthur Charles

by zuzallove



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur comes back, M/M, Merlin waits, Prince Louis Arthur Charles, Return, The British Monarchy, World War III, royal baby, royal family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 05:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14489361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zuzallove/pseuds/zuzallove
Summary: Merlin has been waiting for such a long time, he doesn’t even turn his head towards the telly when they say the name.“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles.”





	Prince Louis Arthur Charles

Merlin has been waiting for such a long time, he doesn’t even turn his head towards the telly when they say the name.

There have been several Arthurs already. A Duke of Brittany, in 1187, made him believe for a long couple of decades that Arthur had come back. A blond baby named Arthur born into high aristocracy? That had to be it, right?

It never even occurred to him to be worried – if Arthur had indeed come back that meant trouble for the world, after all – because he would have given anything, _anything_ to have Arthur back.

But that Arthur had died at 16, and no, he hadn't been his Arthur.

For a long time after that, he investigated other Arthurs, wandering the island, and then expanding his search overseas.

It took four more centuries for another Arthur to be born in the royal family – a royal family that was rapidly changing shape, and values, until it became unrecognisable to Merlin; sure, he actually had no logical reason whatsoever to believe Arthur would come back as a member of that family, but he trusted his gut.

Arthur, Prince of Wales, was brother to Henry VIII. That alone made Merlin dislike him a bit, but he kept a close eye on him. He looked nothing like his Arthur, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything, did it? The child was the union link between two great Houses, and was considered as the great hope of the House of Tudor. Merlin had been following those events with a watchful eye, that terrible war, unable to stop thinking that maybe all that trouble meant Arthur was coming back.

It had been one of the greatest disappointments of his life. The boy had been smart, educated, promising, handsome. Merlin, disguised as court physician, had taken a liking to him. He wasn’t sure, he couldn’t be sure, but he had hope. He had met Arthur when the young prince was in his twenties, he had no idea how he had been in his childhood, right? So, he would need for this Arthur to reach that age to be sure.

But that would never happen, because six months before turning sixteen, Arthur, prince of Wales, passed away. And with him, the last of Merlin’s hope.

Merlin remembers very little of the century that followed, which he spent in a perpetual drunken stupor. It took the death of Elizabeth I to finally shake off the last of his grief, and the first thing he thought was “Oh, no, I never got to meet Shakespeare.”

After that, Merlin wandered again. This time, though, he didn’t restrict himself to Europe, he actually saw the world. He wasn’t fine, not by a long shot, and the world was a horrible place sometimes, but it was big enough to keep him distracted. He found out that the only thing that gave him some measure of satisfaction was helping other people, and so he did. He got rid of plagues. He fought evil witches. He tried to survive. Because no matter how much the world messed up, Arthur never came back.

So, he didn’t even flinch when the announcement was made.

“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles.”

But even though he paid no mind to it immediately, it was hard to ignore, because everyone was talking about this new royal baby. At some point, he had to form an opinion. And his opinion was that he definitely wasn’t his Arthur.

First of all, his first name was Louis. Arthur was just a middle name. He was a third son, unlikely to ever sit on the throne – still firmly occupied by his great-grandmother, whom Merlin secretly liked very much. Finally, the world sucked, but it didn’t seem to be falling into chaos and ruin faster than usual. So, no, this new baby wasn’t his Arthur. He couldn’t get his hopes up.

He waited four more years before investigating. Then he turned into the old version of himself and magicked a job for himself at Kensington Palace.

Kate and William were a lovely couple, if not the perfect image of happiness and composure the press kept pushing. They bickered and snapped, but Merlin could see the genuine feeling between them. Their children clearly benefitted from that, as they were growing up fine, better than all the other royal babies that had come before them for sure.

Prince Louis was obsessed with swords. Merlin, disguised as a secretary and press liaison, watched as the boy asked his father for a real one, and fencing classes. Will and Kate had been reluctant at first, but it was a noble enough sport, and in the end, they caved. The boy loved red so much his mother had to constantly beg him to wear any other colour. His room looked like the inside of an oven.

But the point was, Merlin couldn’t deny it any longer, that the boy was the spitting image of Arthur, despite his young age. Those slightly crooked teeth, blue eyes, blond hair. His baby fat couldn’t quite hide his appearance anymore.

“Your ears are huge,” Louis flatly told him one day, after he had patiently explained to him that his daddy couldn’t go play with him yet, he needed to finish talking with Secretary Marlin first. As William spluttered and forced the boy to apologise to poor old Secretary Marlin, Merlin’s ears were ringing. And not because of the insult they had just taken.

_Louis is Arthur._

And then came the panic.

He kept that job for another ten years, staying as close to him as he could – protecting him from threats secret services never even knew about – until finally, he understood why Arthur had come back. In the meantime, Elizabeth had died – and her son, King Charles, was in no good health either. The world was changing.

And as much as he would have liked to stay close to him, he needed to help. He posed as an Ambassador for five more years, during which William became King. With Prince George now 24, Princess Charlotte 22, and Arthur 19, a third World War was rapidly approaching. When it finally did break out, after years and years of failed diplomatic approaches and mitigating strategies, he knew what he had to do. It was time.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he turned young again. As young as he had been when he and Arthur first met. His whole body was singing, pain free, healthy and strong, ready to meet Arthur again.

He opted for a direct approach.

“Hi,” he cheerfully greeted Arthur. Two seconds later, he had a sword at his throat.

“Wow, this is sharp. I guess you are allowed to use real swords now,” he calmly commented, not quite able to stop the grin spreading on his face.

“Who are you, and what are you doing in my bedroom?” Arthur asked, deadly. Gods, he was beautiful.

“Well, I do have an explanation. If you could just let me live, here, I’ll happily provide it.”

Arthur lowered the sword, but kept it ready to strike if necessary.

“I’m listening.”

“Great.” And then he threw a vial at his feet. As the potion exploded – a formula he had been working on for about a millennium, tweaking it and adjusting it constantly – Arthur dropped on his knees and coughed, breathing in the fumes.

“What the actual fu…”

“Tsk, such a potty mouth. Always have been.”

Arthur woke up several hours later. Merlin observed the process closely, sitting on the bed next to him.

First, his nose twitched. Then he inhaled sharply. Finally, he opened his eyes, and immediately looked for Merlin.

“Hi,” Merlin tried again. He smiled tentatively.

For a long moment, nothing happened, and Merlin feared the worst.

Then Arthur smiled, and Merlin’s heart exploded.

“Your ears are huge.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is... nothing, really. It's been on my mind ever since they announced the name.  
> Hope you liked it!


End file.
